The Fairground
[PULL YOURSELF UP FROM THE ARM REST]
I gave no hesitation, and grabbed the arm rest, using all the strength left in my arms to pull myself up. “ARRRRRGGGGHHH!!” I grunted, sweating profusely, digging my nails into the leather of the armrest, bending my arms, and I leaned my chest on top of the roller coaster railing. I waited a minute or two to regain my arm strength to pull the rest of my body up, and climb to the highest peak of the ring with my legs swaying in the air. I stood crouched on top, gripping the railing tightly. I heard a whimper from the back of the rollercoaster, and i noticed there was a girl still strapped into the seat, seatbelt fastened, and her hair dangled upside down.
“.....” she did not speak but I could hear the fear in her whimpers.
“HEY! Are you Alive! I can help you!” I called out to her.
“....”, the girl did not speak, she just stared down at the lower ground of the fair.
“I’m gonna try to get you out of there, okay?” I said, crawling with my hands and feet around the steel railing beams.
“NO, DON’T!!!” she screamed as I came closer to the back seat, which jolted me and I missed a step in my footing on the railing and almost fell.
I stopped crawling, waited in silence before she angrily said,
“Don’t fucking save me! Save yourself… I should have never came here. I should have never came… They’re all dead...they’re all dead! Sarah….George….why…” she said sobbing uncontrollably, as she closed her eyes, turning her head away as her voice became quiet, and turned into distant whispers.
I couldn’t leave her there… but I knew there was nothing I could do to convince her to come with me. I wish I knew her. I wish she could trust me. I wish i didn’t have to go through this all by myself. I wish Eric was still alive...
I crouched back to the front , and I looked down through the beams of the rollercoaster, and saw a grey steel ladder, lined straight up in the middle of the Ring of Death, more than 400 feet above in the air. The adrenaline pumped erratically in my chest, and the pounding in my ears was throbbing, but i knew that I had to keep going if I was ever going to survive all of this.
“Look, I can’t leave you here! You see, there’s a ladder in the middle of the roller coaster. I think we could climb down, and get out of here! Please, we need to find help!” I said, voice cracking, feeling the fear clog up in my throat, trying to hide back my tears.
“No I can’t!!! ---The seatbelt!” she said nervously, as she pointed at the seatbelt. “It’s stuck!” she said, quietly, mascara dripping down from her cheeks that were bright red.
The strands of polyester ripped halfway through the seat belt wrapped around her neck, and torso.
“I can’t move… and every time you move It keeps on ripping! Don’t come over here. Please… just leave me, and save yourself…” she said in a sorrowful, sad crackling voice that turned silent.
I couldn’t leave her...It didn’t feel right, but there was nothing else that I could do. It was the hardest decision of my life, and I wasn’t going to help her at all by clinging there, waiting as her seatbelt continues to slowly rip through.
I closed my eyes, sighed, and said, “Look, don’t move, okay? I am going to climb down this ladder and go find help, as soon as possible, I promise!” I said, although, I knew i couldn’t be certain that if that was true.
“...” she didn’t say anything, and grew as quiet as she had been as I have seen her before.
I pressed my chest tightly against the rails, and gripped my arms tighter around the beams, and began slowly climbing backwards to the middle of the roller coaster trying so hard not to rip the girl’s seat belt even more as i moved.. I stopped looking down, feeling uncomfortably disgusted to see all the dead bodies scattered across the fairgrounds. Eric’s body was somewhere along them all. I looked at the circular bar connected to the top of the ladder. The ladder’s distance was a small distance away and I began to think that maybe if I could lean a little closer I could swing myself onto the first pole.
It was only just a little bit further away from me, but maybe if I could swing across the top bar if I leaned forward just a bit closer I might be able to place my feet onto the ladder. I took one more breath before I leaned forward, wrapped my hands tightly around the top railings, and I swung towards the ladder. My body sprang forwards and my left hand grabbed the pole while my right hand grabbed nothing but the air. My left leg slammed painfully hard right into the side of the ladder.
“OWW!!!!!” I yelped in pain, as I felt something sharp puncture into my thigh.
My right hand trembled immediately gripping tightly to the ladder, and I felt the warmth of blood soaking through my jeans. My legs started to tremble as I climbed down the ladder carefully, not even deciding to look back up, placing one foot after another, and continued climbing further down.
I gave no hesitation, and grabbed the arm rest, using all the strength left in my arms to pull myself up. “ARRRRRGGGGHHH!!” I grunted, sweating profusely, digging my nails into the leather of the armrest, bending my arms, and I leaned my chest on top of the roller coaster railing. I waited a minute or two to regain my arm strength to pull the rest of my body up, and climb to the highest peak of the ring with my legs swaying in the air. I stood crouched on top, gripping the railing tightly. I heard a whimper from the back of the rollercoaster, and i noticed there was a girl still strapped into the seat, seatbelt fastened, and her hair dangled upside down.
“.....” she did not speak but I could hear the fear in her whimpers.
“HEY! Are you Alive! I can help you!” I called out to her.
“....”, the girl did not speak, she just stared down at the lower ground of the fair.
“I’m gonna try to get you out of there, okay?” I said, crawling with my hands and feet around the steel railing beams.
“NO, DON’T!!!” she screamed as I came closer to the back seat, which jolted me and I missed a step in my footing on the railing and almost fell.
I stopped crawling, waited in silence before she angrily said,
“Don’t fucking save me! Save yourself… I should have never came here. I should have never came… They’re all dead...they’re all dead! Sarah….George….why…” she said sobbing uncontrollably, as she closed her eyes, turning her head away as her voice became quiet, and turned into distant whispers.
I couldn’t leave her there… but I knew there was nothing I could do to convince her to come with me. I wish I knew her. I wish she could trust me. I wish i didn’t have to go through this all by myself. I wish Eric was still alive...
I crouched back to the front , and I looked down through the beams of the rollercoaster, and saw a grey steel ladder, lined straight up in the middle of the Ring of Death, more than 400 feet above in the air. The adrenaline pumped erratically in my chest, and the pounding in my ears was throbbing, but i knew that I had to keep going if I was ever going to survive all of this.
“Look, I can’t leave you here! You see, there’s a ladder in the middle of the roller coaster. I think we could climb down, and get out of here! Please, we need to find help!” I said, voice cracking, feeling the fear clog up in my throat, trying to hide back my tears.
“No I can’t!!! ---The seatbelt!” she said nervously, as she pointed at the seatbelt. “It’s stuck!” she said, quietly, mascara dripping down from her cheeks that were bright red.
The strands of polyester ripped halfway through the seat belt wrapped around her neck, and torso.
“I can’t move… and every time you move It keeps on ripping! Don’t come over here. Please… just leave me, and save yourself…” she said in a sorrowful, sad crackling voice that turned silent.
I couldn’t leave her...It didn’t feel right, but there was nothing else that I could do. It was the hardest decision of my life, and I wasn’t going to help her at all by clinging there, waiting as her seatbelt continues to slowly rip through.
I closed my eyes, sighed, and said, “Look, don’t move, okay? I am going to climb down this ladder and go find help, as soon as possible, I promise!” I said, although, I knew i couldn’t be certain that if that was true.
“...” she didn’t say anything, and grew as quiet as she had been as I have seen her before.
I pressed my chest tightly against the rails, and gripped my arms tighter around the beams, and began slowly climbing backwards to the middle of the roller coaster trying so hard not to rip the girl’s seat belt even more as i moved.. I stopped looking down, feeling uncomfortably disgusted to see all the dead bodies scattered across the fairgrounds. Eric’s body was somewhere along them all. I looked at the circular bar connected to the top of the ladder. The ladder’s distance was a small distance away and I began to think that maybe if I could lean a little closer I could swing myself onto the first pole.
It was only just a little bit further away from me, but maybe if I could swing across the top bar if I leaned forward just a bit closer I might be able to place my feet onto the ladder. I took one more breath before I leaned forward, wrapped my hands tightly around the top railings, and I swung towards the ladder. My body sprang forwards and my left hand grabbed the pole while my right hand grabbed nothing but the air. My left leg slammed painfully hard right into the side of the ladder.
“OWW!!!!!” I yelped in pain, as I felt something sharp puncture into my thigh.
My right hand trembled immediately gripping tightly to the ladder, and I felt the warmth of blood soaking through my jeans. My legs started to tremble as I climbed down the ladder carefully, not even deciding to look back up, placing one foot after another, and continued climbing further down.